One small addition to my luggage has given me complete peace of mind when I travel

The Away x Tile luggage
tag costs $30 and attaches to any piece of
luggage.Away

I'm not exactly a calm, cool, or collected traveler.

It's not for lack of trying: I always try breezing through the
airport as if I know exactly where I'm supposed to go. I download
my boarding pass to my phone like a real millennial, and I kick
off my shoes and jacket as quickly as humanly possible while
going through security so as not to hold up the line.

But the truth is, my first airplane ride was at 17 when I went on
a school trip to Washington, D.C., and I didn't fly again
until I was 21 and going to California for the first time.

All of this to say: I am not a traveling pro by any stretch of
the imagination, so I eagerly accept any little little hacks
that can make traveling easier.

So when luggage startup
Away offered to let me try a new high-tech luggage
tag it created in partnership with Bluetooth tracking
company Tile, I decided to give it a shot. The tag looks like any
other luggage tag, but it has a narrow slot in the back for a
Tile Slim. For anyone with an Away suitcase, the new tag looks
almost identical, but it's a bit bigger and a bit heavier
duty.

Tile Slim is about the
size of two credit cards stacked on top of each other, so it
really is slim.Away

I tested the new tag on a recent trip to Los Angeles. While I was
lucky to snag a non-stop flight last-minute, I had a
problem: Because I chose United's new Basic Economy fair,
I was required to check a bag.

This was a frightening proposition for two reasons: I never check
bags because that adds to the hassle of finding it once I
disembark, plus it adds time waiting around at the airport. I'm
not a seasoned traveler, so I'd rather just keep my suitcase with
me at all times and avoid an added layer of confusion, even if it
means dealing with tiny liquids.

My other worry was a thought everyone has when checking a bag:
What if the airline loses it?

Thanks to this new Tile tag, though, that fear quickly
dissipated. All I needed to do was download the Tile app,
activate my device, and pair it with my iPhone. My phone
communicated with the Tile using Bluetooth: If my bag was too far
away from me, I got a push alert as soon my phone couldn't find
my luggage. I could also open the app and locate the last-known
location of my suitcase.

That gray circle is the
last spot my bag was detected.Away

The tag works both ways, too. If I had my luggage but
couldn't find my phone, all I had to do was squeeze the Tile and
it would cause my phone to ring loudly.

There's only one downside of Tile, and other Bluetooth
trackers like it: Since the tracking capabilities rely on
Bluetooth technology, it's dependent on you having access to the
app and having Bluetooth turned on. If your phone is inside your
suitcase and you lose your suitcase, you're out of luck until you
can get on the app on another device. Still, having any type of
tracking device is better than nothing.

The tag could be attached to any other bag or backpack
you'd like to keep tabs on, and you can also slide the Tile out
of the tag and place it inside a wallet or purse. The Tileshould last for about a year without needing to be
charged.